CH 103

“The words you just promised to me. If even one of them is a lie—”

“They’re not lies! I told you they were a promise!” Gareth yelled in a harsh tone. He then cleared his throat and asked, “Did you mention a child? Our baby?”

Elena watched the thrilled Gareth and thought nervously, ‘Can this man really live as a father of my child…?’

At that moment, Gareth stood up from his chair, bent down in front of her, and carefully caressed her still flat stomach as if it were the utmost precious thing in the world. Elena could clearly feel his trembling hands, but she couldn’t tell if he was happy or surprised.

Gareth, who was now kneeling before Elena, inhaled deeply. He then swept up his short hair with one hand and confessed, “I really didn’t think… it would feel like this.”

Unsure of what he meant, Elena looked down at him. The man’s face looked slightly flushed as if he was a bit embarrassed.

“My heart is pounding. Oh, my goodness. You’re saying our baby is in here?” he exclaimed, then rested his hands on her hips as he gently kissed her belly once, twice, then three times…

Such a sight drove Elena to tears. As if blaming herself for getting emotional, she snapped, “I’m being foolish to give such a violent and rude mercenary like you another chance.”

Gareth simply rubbed his face against her stomach and whispered, “I will never do anything to hurt you again. Never again.”

“Then prove it to me. I need to see that you can be different.”

Gareth took a deep breath in before standing up. His emotions swirled violently inside him. He knew he had to say something, but couldn’t. Instead, he awkwardly swept his hair back once again.

Elena decided to let Gareth go, pretending not to notice that he had dodged her words. “Giggs will be here soon as well. Eat well, and have a safe trip,” she said quietly.

Gareth leaned forward to place his forehead on Elena’s chest and said, “Just one more chance, Elena. I’ll make sure you won’t regret it.”

Elena gently stroked Gareth’s head and whispered, “Don’t tell me, show me.”

* * *

Gareth stood quietly with his sword in his hand as he observed the man with short, black hair in front of him. He was able to tell from far away that this man was indeed Ethan, the rightful heir to the throne.

“Long time no see, Gareth.”

Gareth remained silent. Ethan’s eyes reminded him of Elena’s eyes, except darker. Gareth had spent a lot of time with Ethan when he was young; back then, the young crown prince was no less mischievous than Gareth, and the two boys had caused countless troublesome situations whenever Gareth would visit the capital with his father. Although it was a long time ago, the faded memories of his childhood filled Gareth’s heart with bitterness.

“You’ve changed a lot,” Ethan noted.

“So have you, Lord Ethan.”

Ethan smirked. Reaching out his hand, he asked, “Shall we shake hands as old friends?”

‘Ethan…’ Gareth glanced at his hand and snorted, which was considered rude, since he had the status of a mercenary.

Lance, who was behind Ethan, stepped forward in a fit of rage. “How dare a mere mercenary—”

“Watch your mouth, Lance. He is the heir to Duke Garcia,” Ethan stopped him.

Giggs, who was standing behind Gareth, grinned at Lance, revealing his yellow teeth. Lance glared at Giggs in response, to which Giggs widened his eyes and gritted his teeth as if to warn him. While the two were busy butting heads, Ethan took back his rejected hand and stepped forward.

“Let’s take a walk, Gareth.”

Gareth slowly followed behind Ethan as they made their way into the deep forest covered in snow. Ethan, who was wearing a fur coat, walked slowly for a while without saying a word. He only stopped walking once he was deep into the forest, where the wind was howling.

“I’ve heard some things about you. A notorious mercenary, huh? I didn’t believe that was you at first, because the Gareth I knew wasn’t someone like that.”

“People change depending on their circumstances.”